David's Birthday Surprise

I can't stand it! I just can't keep a secret about the gifts I want to give or the general "theme" or ideas I come up with for David's birthday year after year. First off... for those who do not know him well, he is a huge Rutgers fan and practically expects all things Rutgers when it comes to birthdays and holidays. But if you know me, you probably know I tend to want to come up with my own ideas.

Enough of all that... back to the surprise. For this year's theme I was inspired by a book I read at least parts of back when David and I were first together. This book talks about the five ways to show someone you love them. So for David's birthday I thought I would wrap up something representative of all five categories!

The categories are Quality Time, Service, Gifts, Physical Touch and Words of Affirmation.

Follow my train of thought now if you dare. All of the above is very easy in itself, but let's add to this equation the fact that David just a few days ago showed some concern for our growing credit card debt. I am so very lucky in that he manages all the finances. I don't own a bank card to run to the ATM and withdraw money, and his comment about that early on was he "has enough trouble keeping track of what he withdraws." I am perfectly capable of going to the bank and withdrawing cash, writing a check or just transferring funds around via online banking, but because of his comment about that ATM card years back these are things I just don't do.

To cover any expenses I ever have I always just "Use the card" as this was what he assured me would be easiest for him. That's how we do it. So a couple of days ago when he mentioned to me that our credit card debt has risen to an uncomfortable level in just a very short time I had to know how bad. We like our balance to be zero. The figure he gave me made me suck in my breath. I know the first thing I want to do is stop using that card. Non use of my Visa card combined with those five ways to show someone you love them is what inspired this years gift giving!

For David's birthday I am spending no money. You heard right. No money at all. No more charges on the Visa, not going to write any checks, and his gifts will be something he will love. Years ago his mother told me that her father would rather "count his money than spend it" and we laughed about the apple and the tree.

In our house are several containers filled with coins. These are things David really doesn't pay attention to much. He drops his pocket change and I scoop it up and stash it away. While David counts the bills I have always counted the coins. I am pretty lazy about it so a lot of containers fill up before I actually go for the paper coin rolls and get busy.

One very heavy birthday GIFT coming up. Rolled coins. I will wrap it all in a big box and decorate it with something from my huge collection of crafting supplies. I am proud of how frugal my husband is and I want to show him! AFFIRMATION! I want to show him I appreciate all he gives me as well. I don't "need" a lot of things I have been spending money on and it is time to let him know. So for his birthday I am going to agree not to spend money on anything that is not really needed. Going out to eat a lot is at the top of my list of things I don't really need. If I can't survive that, the least I can do is opt for less expensive places to go!

For the really big gift I have more... A few days ago he gave me cash to go out with the girls, get my nails done or whatever. He never asks questions. I tucked it away. I didn't get my nails done. I really get it in my head that I "need" a pedicure, but I actually can cut my own toenails and when I remove old polish those who may notice my feet probably won't see that I "need" a pedicure. Amazing!

Those crispy bills I did not spend are going into his birthday card. Yes, I keep a box of all occasion cards. I won't even be buying that. In another box I plan to wrap up my credit card. I haven't decided yet if I should cut it into pieces, but my instincts now say yes! I will find a small box to put that in and before he opens it I will ask him to shake it and guess what it is.

QUALITY TIME coming up now... For his birthday he will be escorted to the parlor to open these gifts. While there without the noise of television or the distraction of our computers, we will also have a meal I will prepare and a homemade cake! And I mean home made. Not from the box... but the real deal! SERVICE gets covered now. But I wanted to do more. I plan to create a coupon for a "free back rub" and I am sure he will love that. PHYSICAL TOUCH. Now that is all you need to know.

I can't WAIT!